242 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



menced to pull the string in little jerks, which 

 made the fur cap hop along the ground, just as if 

 it were a rabbit. A flash as of brown lightning 

 streaked through the air and the Homed Owl 

 struck both claws into the cap. 



"A roar of relieved laughter went the rounds 

 of the camp. The lumbermen nailed the Owl's 

 skin on the chuck-house door next evening, and the 

 ghost was laid. 



"So you see," the Feather Man concluded, 

 ''some birds can fly almost without sound, though 

 other birds go to the opposite extreme and use 

 their wings for the purpose of making a noise. 

 You've seen a rooster flap his wings against his 

 sides, just before crowing, eh?" 



"Of course," agreed Shan. 



*'But you've probably never heard a Euffed 

 Grouse 'drum.' That's one of the most curious 

 wing noises in bird land. The drumming of the 

 Ruffed Grouse begins, as Seton very well describes 

 it, like the measured thump of a big drum, dying 

 away into the rumble of a deep-toned little drum. 

 At a distance, it sounds like far-off thunder. It 

 goes — Bump — Bump — Bump — Umpr-rump-rup- 

 rp-r-r-r-r. The male stands on a stump or log and 

 makes the sound by beating the air violently with 



